WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) fell 1.1% after JPMorgan downgraded to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ to reflect the slowing US macroeconomic environment.
The broker made the move in a sector review in which it said the outlook for 2024 is very similar to that 12 months ago.
Economies, consumers & earnings were resilient in 2023 & the forecast economic slowdown has been rolled into 2024, it pointed out.
JPM maintains a defensive bias as it starts the year as it expects higher inflation and interest rates to finally catch up with consumers and earnings.
Its key picks include RELX PLC, up 1.3%, a high quality, defensive megacap, an AI winner that is compounding at an accelerating rate, in JPM's view.
The bank pointed out RELX trades at a 20% discount to US peers despite offering better quality and growth.
JPMorgan also lowered its price target for WPP to 850p, down from 1,170p.